Boxing in 2001

In 2001, Lennox Lewis (U.K.) brought a measure of continuity to a year filled with unexpected results when he regained the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight titles by knocking out Hasim Rahman (U.S.) in the fourth round of their November 17 rematch in Las Vegas, Nev. Lewis ended the fight with a single right hand to the jaw that floored Rahman for the 10 count. The unheralded Rahman had sprung a stunning upset on April 22, knocking out Lewis in the fifth round of a bout held in Johannesburg, S.Af., to win the WBC and IBF belts.

John Ruiz (U.S.) became the first boxer of Latino heritage to win a heavyweight title when he annexed the World Boxing Association (WBA) title with a 12-round decision over Evander Holyfield (U.S.) on March 3 in Las Vegas. A rematch in Mashantucket, Conn., on December 17, ended in a draw. Owing to a back injury and several canceled bouts, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (U.S.) fought only once during the year, scoring a seventh-round knockout of Brian Nielsen (Den.) on October 13 in Copenhagen. The victory ensured Tyson a title bout in 2002.

In another stunning upset, Bernard Hopkins (U.S.) became the first unified middleweight champion in 14 years when he knocked out Felix Trinidad (P.R.) in the 12th round on September 29 in front of a capacity crowd of more than 19,000 fans at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The match was the final bout in a middleweight championship tournament promoted by Don King. In the first bout of the tournament, IBF middleweight champion Hopkins added the WBC title by winning a 12-round decision over Keith Holmes (U.S.) on April 14 at Madison Square Garden. In the next round of the tournament, Trinidad won the WBA middleweight title with a fifth-round knockout of William Joppy (U.S.) on May 12 at the Garden. Trinidad was heavily favoured to win the finale, but the bout was dominated by Hopkins, who gave one of the finest performances in middleweight history. Approximately 475,000 households purchased the Hopkins-Trinidad television pay-per-view, making it the largest pay-per-view sale of the year. It was Trinidad’s first loss in 41 professional bouts and left Hopkins in possession of all three major middleweight titles—IBF, WBA, and WBC.

Undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones, Jr. (U.S.), defended his WBA, WBC, and IBF titles twice in 2001. Jones scored a 10th-round knockout of Derrick Harmon (U.S.) on February 24 in Tampa, Fla., then tallied a 12-round decision over Julio Gonzalez (U.S.) on July 28 in Los Angeles. Despite these two relatively easy victories, Jones lost prestige owing to the mediocre quality of his challengers.

Box-office attraction Oscar de la Hoya (U.S.), who had been without a world title since June 17, 2000, when he lost the WBC welterweight title to Shane Mosley (U.S.), moved up to the super welterweight (junior middleweight) class, where he won the WBC title with a 12-round decision over Francisco Castillejo (Spain) on June 23 in Las Vegas. The undefeated Mosley enhanced his standing as one of the sport’s finest practitioners by making two defenses of the WBC welterweight title. Mosley scored a fifth-round knockout of Shannon Taylor (Australia) on March 10 in Las Vegas, then followed with a third-round knockout of Adrian Stone (U.K.) on July 21 in Las Vegas.

The first major upset of the year came on April 7 when featherweight Marco Antonio Barrera (Mex.) won a 12-round decision over previously undefeated Naseem Hamed (U.K.) in Las Vegas. Hamed, known for his outspoken personality and extravagant ring entrances, was exposed as a one-dimensional fighter by Barrera’s clever boxing and accurate punching. The bout drew 12,847 live spectators, and close to 250,000 homes purchased the pay-per-view program, which made it the largest-grossing featherweight bout in history. Barrera followed up with a sixth-round knockout of Enrique Sánchez (Mex.) on September 8 in Reno, Nev., to further establish his credentials as the world’s foremost featherweight.

The theme of unification and upsets continued when WBA/WBA 140-lb titleholder Kostya Tszyu (Australia) became the first undisputed junior welterweight champion since Nicolino Locche, in 1968, by stopping favoured IBF champion Zab Judah (U.S.) in the second round of a bout held on November 3 in Las Vegas. After the fight was halted, an enraged Judah shoved his glove under referee Jay Nady’s chin and threw a stool. In a disciplinary action, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Judah’s boxing license for six months and fined him $75,000.

In a bizarre match between the offspring of two famous rivals, Laila Ali (U.S.), the daughter of former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, won a spirited eight-round decision over Jacqui Frazier-Lyde (U.S.), the daughter of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, on June 8 in Verona, N.Y. Although panned by the media beforehand, the pay-per-view event was sold to approximately 100,000 households, which made the surprisingly entertaining contest the richest women’s boxing match in history.

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